Shoulder to Cry On
by Natalie Dertoten
Summary: Blake begins to notice signs from her team leader. Signs of what, she's unsure, but she intends to find out. AU, sort of.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all, and welcome to a story that's not about Penny for once! I guess this could be considered an AU, since some characters are very OOC. I could leave this as a oneshot, or I could do multiple chapters. Let me know if you want more. Anyways, without further ado, on to the story. Enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.**

* * *

Blake wasn't sure when she started noticing the younger girl's odd behaviour. She wasn't sure why, either, but she did. And the more she looked, the more she noticed. The smiles fewer, and farther between. The bruises she tried to cover up. The muffled sobs, late at night when she thought no one could hear. Blake had tried to talk to her, but she always made excuses, like 'I'm clumsy' or 'I just had a nightmare'. The faunus was determined to find out what she was hiding though.

Blake appreciated her Grimm Studies class for the simple reason that it didn't require her to pay a whole lot of attention in the actual lecture periods. As long as she kept up with the assigned reading and studied for the tests, the class was essentially a period for her to read her novels, catch up on homework from other classes, or occasionally doze off. Today however, her focus was entirely on her team leader, observing her and trying to figure out how she was going to uncover whatever she was trying to keep secret. So focused was she on the brunette, Blake almost didn't hear the ringing that signalled the end of classes.

The final bell of the day always heralded an eruption from the students, the classroom devolving into a maelstrom of voices and movement as eager students quickly packed up their supplies and made their way out the door. For once, the cat ninja was glad for the throng of students she was stuck in the middle of. It made it easier to blend in and follow the shorter girl unnoticed.

After a minute or so of following Ruby, the group of people around her had thinned significantly, but she didn't have to follow the girl for much longer. The speedy girl was scurrying along when Blake saw Yang turn around a corner and catch her sister by the wrist. Blake was about to turn away and return to the dorm, leaving the two sister to their devices, when Yang harshly tugged the smaller girl into a nearby restroom. Raising her eyebrows in alarm, she quickly approached the washroom door and placed her ear against it, careful not to make any noise. Though slightly muffled by the door, the voices inside were clear enough.

"Is my essay done yet?"

"Well, no, not yet."

"Why not?"

"Well, I mean, our other classes have been giving us a lot of homework lately, and I still need to keep up with my sparring practice, and-"

"Boo hoo. That's not my problem. My problem is that my essay isn't written yet. And that's gonna be your problem if you don't hurry the hell up."

"Well, if you'd do any of your own homework, maybe the essay would be done by n-"

 **Thwack.**

"Just finish the damn essay, and keep your mouth shut. I don't know why Ozpin even let you into Beacon, you're not cut out to be a huntress. But you were always everyone's favourite, weren't you. Brown-nosing little shit." The blonde might have gone on, but Blake chose that moment to open the door, the hinges squeaking to announce her arrival. Yang looked up at her and immediately flashed the faunus a grin. "Hey Blake, what's up?" Blake narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Why don't you tell me? I thought I heard a noise come from in here." Yang's smile faltered, but only for a brief moment.

"Well, my clumsy sister here took a bit of a tumble, and I was helping her up. Right sis?" Blake noticed the short, sharp look that the blonde flashed her younger sister.

"R-right. Clumsy me, heh-heh. Oops. Thanks sis," Ruby replied quietly. Blake glanced between the two.

"Right. Well, Ruby, I was actually just looking for you. Do you have a minute?" the faunus asked, earning a confused blink from the shorter girl.

"Me? Uh, well, okay," she stammered, grabbing her bag off the floor. "Um, I'll see you back at the dorm, Yang." The blonde maintained her grin and gave her sister a, more forceful than necessary, slap on the back.

"Alright, have fun you two!" With that, the blonde strode off, leaving the other two alone in the bathroom. Blake turned back to Ruby and raised an eyebrow.

"So. Mind telling me what that was all about?" Blake enquired once the sound of Yang's heavy footsteps had faded away. Ruby jumped slightly.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Ruby stammered, not convincing in the slightest. Blake narrowed her eyes at the shorter girl.

"Ruby, you're terrible at lying," she stated. "I heard everything. So how about you tell me the truth." At that, Ruby's eyes widened and began darting between Blake and the door.

"I... I don't know what you're t-talking about," she replied quickly. "I just remembered I have somewhere to be, so if you'll excuse me." Blake crossed her arms and did not budge an inch.

"No. Not until you tell me how long Yang has been bullying you." Ruby rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

"She's not... she's not bullying me, she just needs some help with her homework." Ruby replied weakly. Blake's eyebrow elevated once more.

"Really. Is that why she smacked you in the face?" Ruby's left hand shot up to her cheek, a red, hand-shaped mark still clearly visible. "Ruby, if that's not bullying, I don't know what is. And believe me, I know bullying when I see it." Ruby's lip began quivering.

"No, Yang is... she's j-just... I..." After stammering nonsense for a few moments, the shorter girl finally broke down, falling to her knees and sobbing. Blake was unsure of what to do at first, but eventually crouched down and pulled the small girl into a tentative hug.

" _I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds,"_ the faunus thought to herself as she slowly rubbed the her teammate's back. The pair stayed like that for about a minute before Ruby's crying had died down somewhat. "Feel better?" Ruby nodded and grabbed some toilet paper to blow her nose.

"Sorry about that Blake, I probably got snot on your shirt. I-if you want, you can change out of it back at the room and I'll get it washed right away." Ruby mumbled, and Blake merely shrugged.

"It's fine. But what's not fine is that you're getting bullied by your sister. How long has this been going on?" she asked. Ruby shrugged in response.

"A long time," she admitted. "Since before we came to Beacon." Blake frowned.

"Why haven't you told anyone about this yet?" Blake asked. Ruby scoffed at her.

"You think I haven't?" she snapped. "There's not much the teachers can do. They do what they can, but they can't be watching me all the time. It's not really like I have any friends that can help me, and dad doesn't really care about anything since mom died. So I just have to deal with it."

"What about Weiss?" Blake asked.

"What about her?" Ruby replied. "She wouldn't care. She already hates me for getting stuck as my partner and for me being assigned team leader over her." Blake thought for a moment.

"Well, you have me, now."

Ruby blinked at the taller girl, not sure if she'd heard her right.

"What?"

"I... I want to be your friend," she started slowly. "If you're okay with it, I mean." Ruby blinked at her again.

"You... you mean it? You want to be friends with me?" she asked, prompting Blake to nod slowly. "But... but what if Yang starts picking on you for hanging out with me?" Blake couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Don't worry about her. I was in the White Fang, remember? She should be the one worried about me." The faunus gave the smaller girl the most reassuring smile she could muster. "I'm not going to let her hurt you anymore." Ruby began sobbing again, and Blake pulled her into another hug, slightly less tentative than the first. After Ruby's tears had subsided, Blake waited as she washed her face.

"Sorry about that again, Blake," the brunette apologized once more, and once more the taller girl simply shrugged.

"Not a problem," she replied, before thinking for a moment. "Hey, since it's Friday, do you want to maybe go out and do something?" The shorter girl merely blinked at her.

"Like what?" she asked after a short pause.

"I don't know, we could just go into Vale and find something to do there, I suppose," the ninja proposed, and Ruby's face brightened.

"That sounds great! I just need to head back to the dorm and drop off my textbooks." Blake nodded in agreement and the two finally left the washroom.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do?"

Blake looked over at her companion and realized, that was a good question.

"Uh, I'm not sure actually," she admitted somewhat sheepishly. "I usually only come in to Vale to buy books, and sometimes stop by the cafe near the book store to read." The girl beside her gave her a warm smile as they continued walking.

"Why don't we do that then?" the shorter of the two suggested. "Go to the cafe I mean." Blake gave her an odd look.

"Uh, wouldn't you find that a little boring?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at her team leader. Ruby merely shook her head.

"Nah. Contrary to popular belief, I actually can sit still for more than ten seconds at a time," she replied. "It'll be nice to just talk, and get to know each other. We haven't really talked much since, well ever, really. But now seems as good a time as any, right?" Blake didn't respond immediately, but eventually nodded.

"Right. Well, shall we be off then?"

"Lead the way."

The pair made their way through the moderately busy streets, idly conversing as they weaved around pedestrians. The cat faunus was surprised at the depth of knowledge and insight the shorter girl possessed on a broad range of topics.

"Wow," the taller girl remarked as they finally arrived at the Kitty Corner Cafe, "I was slightly skeptical of your ability at first, but now it's no wonder you were moved ahead two whole years. You're so much more intelligent than a lot of people in our year." Ruby gave her a weak chuckle.

"Thanks. At least someone thinks I'm good enough to be at Beacon," Ruby mumbled, and Blake put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, don't think about Yang right now, she's not here," Blake reassured, "just focus on the two of us. And on what drink you'd like to order, because we're next up." Blake nudged her head towards the counter, and Ruby quickly scanned her eyes over the board.

"Oh, uh, I'll have the triple chocolate mocha with extra sprinkles and whipped cream. Oh, and a couple chocolate chip cookies," she told the barista, and was about to pull out her wallet when Blake stopped her.

"The usual for me, and I'm paying for both," she told the girl across the counter, and pulled out her own wallet.

"Blake!" Ruby cried, "I can't ask you to pay for me! Here, let me jus-" The faunus once again stopped her.

"You didn't have to. I'm doing this because I want to." Ruby still looked ready to protest though, so Blake decided to placate her somewhat. "How about this? You pay for me the next time we come in?" Ruby still looked slightly dissatisfied, but nodded as the two seated themselves at one of the booths.

"Thanks Blake," she mumbled after a moment. "You still didn't have to pay for mine though." Blake gave her a small smile.

"I know, but again, I did it because I wanted to," she explained. "Isn't that what friends do?" Ruby blinked at her.

"I... I guess so." Ruby gave Blake a small smile as the barista brought over the drinks and cookies.

The pair spent the rest of the afternoon at the cafe, idly chatting about anything and everything. Blake marvelled at her companion's extensive mechanical knowledge as the gun nut gushed about the latest weapon modifications on the market. Ruby also listened quietly as Blake told her a bit about her current novel, only asking the odd question here and there. The sun was setting by the time the pair finally found themselves back at Beacon, both sporting content smiles.

"Did you have fun today?" Blake asked as they made their way back to the dorm room. "I know it wasn't exactly the most stimulating activity ever, but I generally just like to relax in my free time. Sorry if you found it boring." Ruby shook her head immediately.

"Don't worry, I had a great time Blake," the shorter girl reassured. "Being able to just relax and talk was really nice. Thanks again." Blake smiled.

"No problem. We should do it again sometime. Maybe next weekend." Ruby beamed at the suggestion.

"I'd really like that."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello all, and welcome back. By popular demand, this fic will continue, so thank you for all the support. Constructive criticism always appreciated. Now, without further ado, on to the story. Enjoy.**

* * *

The clatter of keys on a keyboard was the first sound Blake noticed as she was slowly pulled from her slumber. Blearily blinking her eyes, she yawned softly, causing the clatter to cease momentarily.

"Oh, Blake. I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Ruby queried, unable to stifle a yawn of her own. "I should have tried to be quieter." Blake merely waved off her apology.

"It's fine," Blake replied, pushing herself up to a sitting position on the edge of her bed. "What are you still doing up anyway?" Ruby rubbed one of her eyes as she closed her laptop.

"Just working on an essay," she yawned and clambered off her precarious bunk to plug the laptop in. "Didn't realize how late it was." The faunus gave her a suspicious look that went unnoticed in the dark room.

"Your essay, or someone else's?" Blake noticed the shorter girl pause. "Why are you still working on that for her?" Her keen ears picked up a small sigh.

"I mean, it's already almost done, and it's too late for her to do it on her own so I might as well finish it," she explained. "I don't really want her to fail. She's still my sister after all." The faunus could only blink at the younger girl.

"Really?" she asked incredulously. "After all she's put you through you're still going to help her?" Ruby went quiet for a moment.

"I don't want to see her fail," Ruby repeated. "Maybe I should, and maybe I should hate her, but I don't. There's no way she could get this done in time now, so I'll just finish it up for her." Blake sighed.

"You can't keep letting her push you around," she insisted, drawing a sigh from the smaller girl.

"I know, I know. This is the last one, I promise. I just..." She sighed again. "I don't know if I can stand up to her alone."

"You don't have to do it alone," Blake said. "If you need me, I'll be there with you. Will that make it easier?" Blake could make out a small smile forming on Ruby's face.

"Would you really?" Blake nodded. "That would make it so much easier. Thank you so much Blake."

"It's not a problem," the faunus replied. "Now, we should both probably get some sleep. It's quite late." As if on cue, the smaller girl let out a hearty yawn.

"Sounds like a good idea," she agreed, flicking off her bedside lamp. "Goodnight Blake. Sweet dreams." Blake smiled.

"Goodnight Ruby."

* * *

Blake gazed idly ahead, twirling her pen in her fingers and tuning out the lesson. She spared the occasional glance at the shorter girl seated directly next to her. The red-cloaked girl was currently in the middle of a nap, unnoticed by the rambling Professor Port. The faunus smiled at the drop of drool slowly making it's way out of the corner of the girl's mouth, and after a moment's hesitation, she reached over with her free hand and wiped the saliva away with her thumb. Unfortunately, the bell decided to ring at that exact moment, prompting the slumbering huntress in training to jolt awake.

"...I am not a crook!" Ruby announced sleepily, blinking blearily before her eyes focused on the now giggling Blake. "Hey Blake," she yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "Did I miss anything important?" Blake shook her head slightly as she composed herself.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," she replied after a moment, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Though Port did remind us that our Grimm anatomy essays are due next class." Ruby's smile faltered momentarily, but she immediately perked back up.

"Well, it's a good thing we have out essays done, isn't it." Blake wanted to comment, but decided not to put a damper on Ruby's mood.

 _'No point in bringing up Yang, that would only bring Ruby down,'_ Blake thought, slinging her back over her shoulder and following Ruby out of the classroom. She was sure to stick close to Ruby to ensure she wouldn't get ambushed by Yang. It seemed to be working, as Yang hadn't bothered her the entire weekend. Unfortunately, upon making it a moderate distance from the classroom, the pair found themselves startled by a bubbly call of:

"Hell-ooo!" Blake kept up neutral expression, but was scowling at the blonde inwardly. Ruby seemed to shrink upon hearing her sister, moving slightly behind Blake.

"Hello Yang," Blake greeted coolly. "Do you need something?" Yang was thrown off for a moment, but quickly regained her cheery demeanour.

"Uh, not much. Just wanted to talk to Ruby about something real quick." Blake's eyes narrowed slightly, but then she felt Ruby's hand on her shoulder and she turned to her curiously.

"If it's about the essay for Port's class, don't worry about it," Ruby told her sister. "I've got it done." Yang raised an eyebrow at her before clapping her hands together.

"That's great sis! Wouldn't want you falling behind on your assignments." Blake had to resist rolling her eyes. "That's all I was worried about. Have fun you two." With that, she sauntered off, leaving the two bookworms alone again. Blake turned to Ruby after a moment and raised a questioning eyebrow. Ruby rubbed her shoulder and looked away.

"I... I'll have to work up to it," Ruby explained. "I wasn't ready right now. Plus there's still a few people around. I'd prefer if it were someplace a little less, uh, public." Blake nodded and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, but sooner is better than later," she replied simply. Ruby sighed lightly before giving Blake a nod in return.

"I know."

The pair soon arrived back at the dorm, finding it empty. Ruby immediately dropped her bag on the floor and leapt up to the precarious perch of her bed, flopping onto it with an audible sigh. Meanwhile Blake set about unloading the books from her bag before taking a seat on her own bed. She was about to pull out a novel before glancing up at her tiny leader. Stricken by a flash of curiosity, Blake retracted her hand from her shelf of novels cleared her throat. Ruby sat up and glanced over at her curiously.

"Ruby, do you know why Yang treats you the way she does?" Blake asked. The red-clad girl gave her an odd look.

"Uh, no, not really. Why? Do you?" Blake shook her head.

"No, sorry. It's just that most people who bully others do it to hide some insecurity they have, so I was just wondering if you might have some idea." Ruby flopped onto her back, hands behind her head.

"I've never really thought about it before," she admitted. "I kind of assumed that's just what she's like and left it at that." Blake nodded after a moment and dropped the subject, and was about to reach for a novel once more before she was interrupted by Ruby.

"Hey, Blake?" she asked, rolling back into a sitting position. "You want to go outside and do something? The weather is so nice, it'd be a shame to let it go to waste." Blake glanced out the window for a moment, before finally nodding.

"Sure. What would you like to do?" At that, the shorter girl placed a finger on her chin. After a moment, her stomach let out a low rumble. Grinning somewhat sheepishly, she hopped off her bed and stretched.

"We could get something to eat, then go out after," she suggested, drawing a bemused grin and eye roll from Blake.

"Sure," she agreed after a moment. "I was getting a little hungry anyways." Blake was about to open the door, but had to step back slightly when it opened on its own. Blake tensed slightly, but relaxed when she saw it wasn't who she thought it would be.

"Oh, sorry Blake. I didn't see you there," Weiss apologized as she made her way into the room and dropped her bookbag onto her bed. Blake glanced at Ruby and raised an eyebrow while gesturing to the icy heiress, to which the shorter girl merely shrugged.

"Hey, Weiss," Blake started, catching said girl's attention. "Ruby and I were just about to head to the cafeteria and grab something to eat. Would you like to join us?" Weiss blinked at her.

"No thanks," sh replied. "I have some homework to catch up on, so if you'll excus-" she was cut off by a growl from her own stomach, prompting her to shut her mouth and blush profusely. Blake gave her a small smirk.

"Weiss, you should probably come get something," Ruby suggested. "It's not a good idea to let yourself go hungry. Even if it's just a small snack, you shou-"

"I get it!" Weiss snapped, interrupting Ruby. "I don't need to be lectured by a child." Ruby immediately went silent, while Blake's eyebrows furrowed.

"Weiss, what the hell?" Blake snapped back, surprising the heiress. "That was extremely rude and uncalled for!" Weiss seemed taken aback.

"What? I mean, she is..."

"Young she may be, but she's still one of the smartest people in our year, so her age is no reason to disregard what she has to say," she continued. "Even if she wasn't though, that's still no reason to bite her head off for trying to be helpful." Weiss was silent for a moment, before she let out a heavy sigh.

"You're right, that was uncalled for," she admitted after a moment. "I hope you'll excuse me, but I've just had a lot on my mind recently." Blake nodded.

"Alright," she stated simply.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ruby chimed in. We're both here for you if you need to talk about anything." Weiss blinked at her before shaking her head.

"No, I'll be fine, but... thank you," Weiss replied slowly, a small smile ghosting across her lips. "I will accompany you two to the cafeteria though, if that's alright." Blake let a small smile of her own form, while Ruby did nothing to hide her grin.

Absolutely!" she replied enthusiastically, making her way to the door. "Let us be off."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone, and welcome back. Thank you all so much for all the support. I'm happy everyone seems to be enjoying this story so far. And since you all seem to be enjoying it so much, I won't bore you any longer and let you get straight into it. So, without further ado, on to the story. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Beepbeep. Beepbeep. Beepbeep.**

Blake blinked several times as she reached out to turn off the insistent alarm clock, yawning lightly and stretching. Seeing as she appeared to be the first one to come fully awake, the rest of the occupants of the room still in various states of waking, Blake quickly grabbed her uniform and towel and immediately rushed into the washroom and locking the door behind her.

"Hey!" Blake heard through the door. "No fair!" Blake smiled.

"Sorry Ruby, I got it first," she replied. Receiving no response, she quickly stripped off her kimono and hopped into the shower. Shivering at first, having not waited long enough for the water to heat up, she grabbed her shampoo and began lathering up her hair.

 _'Ruby's been more lively lately, and I'm glad for that'_ Blake thought as she scrubbed her hair, _'but she still has yet to confront Yang directly. I don't want to pressure her into doing something though. I guess I'll just have to let her go at her own pace.'_ Blake finished up washing the rest of her body and towelled herself off before hearing a commotion in the other room. Quickly slipping on her uniform, she opened the door to find Yang holding Ruby in a headlock.

"I called the bathroom next!" Yang stated, Ruby wiggling around in the stronger girl's grip.

"No, I called it first!" Ruby rebutted, still struggling in vain against her sister who merely tightened her grip. Blake frowned.

"Yang, let Ruby go." she demanded, arms folding over her chest. "You can have the shower first since your hair takes longer to dry. Be quick about it though." Yang blinked at her but released her sister's head to pump her fist in the air.

"Yes! Thanks Blake." Said girl hadn't yet stopped frowning at her, but her displeasure went unnoticed as the blonde scooped up her uniform off the floor and sped off into the bathroom. Blake waited until she could hear the shower running before moving to check on Ruby.

"Ruby, are you okay?" the faunus asked, glancing over her for bruises. "Did she hurt you at all?" Ruby shook her head.

"No, I'm okay Blake," she replied quickly. "We were just arguing over who would get the shower first, it's fine. She didn't hurt me at all." Blake let out a small sigh after a moment.

"Good," she stated simply, before a cough caught her attention. She glanced over to see Weiss eyeing them suspiciously.

"You two seem close all of a sudden," the heiress stated, raising an eyebrow at the cat ninja.

"I was just worried that Yang might have been too rough with Ruby," she replied quickly, "you know how she can be." Weiss maintained her gaze before agreeing.

"Yes, I suppose she can be a little... Excessive, at times," she replied, before turning to Ruby. "You are alright, correct?" Ruby nodded.

"I'm fine, she reiterated, packing her books into her bag as she waited for the shower.

* * *

Blake gazed around the classroom as the students continued to file in, class not quite having begun yet. She watched all the other students, wondering if she'd have to fight today. Professor Goodwitch selected students at random for sparring, so she never knew if she'd have to participate in combat training on any given day. She hummed to herself as she waited for class to start, noting sadly that Goodwitch had keen eyes and did not tolerate reading novels in her class when she was supposed to be watching the other students spar. She snapped back to attention when she heard the bell signalling the start of class.

"Alright, everyone settle down please," Professor Goodwitch called, striding through the door precisely on time. "We will be doing our usual sparring today, one-on-one with random partners. Unless anyone feels unfit to participate today, I will proceed to generate the first pair." She waited a moment before proceeding. "Alright, first pair up is..." she glanced at her scroll and swiped the randomizer. "Lie Ren and Dove Bronzewing. Please come down and take your starting positions." Blake immediately began to tune out her surroundings, only mildly interested in the current match-up.

The class continued on with Blake only remaining vaguely aware of who was fighting, most bouts immediately forgotten by the faunus due to lack of investment. Out of curiosity, she glanced over to her team, finding Weiss obviously fully focused, Yang with a mild look of interest, and Ruby picking her nose. The cat ninja had to stifle a giggle at her team leader, earning nothing more than a quick glare from the Professor. With that she returned to idly watching the fights, until she was snapped out of her daydreaming by the sound of two familiar names.

"Yang Xiao Long and... Ruby Rose. If you would, please come down and take your starting positions." Blake's eyes snapped to her team leader who looked just as surprised as she. Yang was already meandering down the stairs into the arena, while Ruby still hadn't moved. "Quickly please, Miss Rose," Glynda insisted, prompting the red-clad girl to grab her scythe and amble down to her starting position. She took up a defensive stance across from her sister and took a deep breath.

 _'When I imagined her confronting Yang, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind...'_ Blake thought as she waited for Glynda to begin the match. _'Then again, maybe this is exactly what she needs. Maybe standing up to her sister in a match might give her the confidence to stand up to her outside the arena. Maybe...'_

"Begin!"

Yang immediately exploded forward, wasting no time in going on the offensive. Ruby parried the punches with Crescent Rose, the massive machine being twirled around as though it weighed nothing. Yang did not appear to be holding back, pressuring Ruby heavily and not giving her a moment to breathe. Ruby deflected almost every blow thrown at her though, aura remaining nearly untouched by Yang's onslaught. Blow after blow was nudged out of the way, and Blake could see the blonde's smirk slowly shifting to a frustrated scowl. Ruby merely continued to parry her strikes, while Yang's ire continued to grow. Finally, Yang threw out a sloppy haymaker, which Ruby immediately punished. The petite girl spun to the side, avoiding the blow, and swung her scythe behind her. The behemoth of a weapon collided with the blonde's gut, sending her flying across the room. Ruby merely stood where she was, Crescent Rose slung over her shoulder as she watched Yang pick herself up. Yang looked slightly rattled, but quickly recovered, her smirk returning.

"Forgot how heavy that thing was," she remarked, cracking her neck. "Haven't been hit by it in forever. But that was just a lucky shot. Let's see how long your luck holds." Ruby didn't respond, instead taking a ready stance once more.

 _'Wow, she's so focused,'_ Blake thought, noticing Ruby's determined gaze fixed solely on her opponent. _'No fear, no hesitation.'_ Her focus immediately snapped back to the fight when Yang surged forward again. Ruby stood her ground as the blonde charged. She didn't shift or flinch as Ember Celica rocketed towards her face. Blake held her breath, and time seemed to slow at Yang's punch came within a hair's breadth of the red-cloaked girl's face. The next moment Yang stumbled and fell over into a pile of rose petals, Ruby reappearing a short distance away.

"Still running I see," Yang scoffed, hopping to her feet. "You can't win by running away, you know." Ruby frowned.

"I'm not running away anymore." With that, she vanished again, the air in the arena beginning to stir.

"Then what do you call this?" Yang called out mockingly, glancing around the arena for some clue where her sister might strike from. "If this isn't running, I don't know what is." She held her defensive stance, unsure what the tiny speedster might be up to. She didn't have to wait long, as Ruby reappeared and Yang once more became acquainted with Crescent Rose's bulk. Yang landed in a roll, righting herself and launching herself directly back towards the smaller girl.

The blows she threw met naught but empty air, the shorter girl twisting and turning too fast for her sister to land a hit. The blonde's frustration was plainly visible now, an angry scowl adorning her features and fighting style becoming more and more erratic. Her punches were becoming imprecise and sloppy, thrown out as quickly as possible to perhaps catch Ruby off guard, but no matter how hard she tried she could not land a hit on her.

After several more moments of dancing around the blonde's strikes, Ruby went on the offensive, bringing her scythe over her head and down onto Yang. The blonde managed to catch the massive blade with her hands, stopping its descent, but with a quick pull of the trigger from Ruby, she was blasted in the face with a rifle shot and flew back several feet. Her aura had absorbed most of the blow, but the impact had left her with blood dribbling out of her nose.

"Stop!" Professor Goodwitch called, causing the two girls to halt and glance at her, Yang finally noticing her nose leaking. "This match is over. Miss Rose, could you please accompany Miss Xiao Long to the infirmary?" Both of the sisters gave her a confused look. Yang finally spoke after a few moments.

"Wait, what?! Why?!" Yang cried. "I'm fine, don't call the match!" The instructor shook her head.

"Miss Xiao Long, please make your way to the infirmary," she refused. "You may have internal injuries that may not be immediately apparent. This match is over. Now please do not make me ask again." Her tone was sharp, leaving no room for argument. Yang looked prepared to protest anyway, but merely huffed angrily and stomped out of the room. Ruby still hadn't moved, and Glynda gazed at her expectantly. "Would you please accompany her to ensure she makes it to the infirmary safely?" Ruby glanced away.

"I don't think she really wants to see me right now," she replied quietly. Blake could see Glynda getting impatient, and hopped quickly down the seats to the arena floor.

"I'll go too," Blake told the professor, who looked mildly surprised, but nodded. Blake then motioned towards the door. "Come on Ruby. Let's make sure she doesn't end up hurting herself." Ruby blinked at her, but nodded after a moment.

"Okay," she replied simply. "Let's go." With that, the pair left the arena as they heard Professor Goodwitch calling up another pair. The pair were silent for a while as they wandered the halls looking for the feisty blonde. Blake spoke up after a moment.

"Do you think she actually went to the infirmary?" she asked. Ruby immediately shook her head.

"Of course not," she replied. "She's too stubborn. She might've gone back to the room, or she could be hiding somewhere sulking. Blake frowned.

"Well either way, we should still find her," the faunus stated. "Professor Goodwitch is right, she should probably get looked over in the infirmary." Ruby sighed.

"You're probably right," she agreed, and the pair continued towards the dorm room.

* * *

"Dammit!" Yang screamed, slamming her bare fists into the punching bag in front of her. "Every single time!" She viciously assaulted the bag, angry strikes slamming the poor piece of training equipment over and over. She continued to vent through her fists until her hands were sore, knuckles bright red and tender. Only then did she allow herself to take a seat on one of the benches nearby. She huffed in aggravation as she massaged her hands. After several minutes, she let out a long, tired sigh.

"I guess some things are just never going to change," she said to no one in particular, blinking away a couple of tears.


	4. Chapter 4

**Aaand, I'm back, with another chapter. Thank you all again for the support, it means a lot. Be sure to leave a review if you feel the urge, and let me know what you like or dislike. I always welcome constructive criticism. Anyways, I'll just let you get right into it. Without further ado, on to the story. Enjoy.**

* * *

Blake frowned as she glanced around the spacious dining hall, not spying the familiar vibrant head of blonde she'd been searching for for the past half hour. She sighed, as she turned back to her companion.

"So, where do you think she went?" Blake asked. "She wasn't in the dorm or the cafeteria." Ruby scrunched her eyebrows together as she thought.

"Well, we haven't checked the exercise facilities yet," she suggested. "She's more of a, uh, physical person, in regards to her emotions. She might be there letting off steam." Blake nodded.

"It's as good a guess as any," the faunus agreed. With that, the pair headed off towards the Beacon exercise areas, the endless corridors along the way giving Blake time to ponder the blonde's behaviour. "Hey, Ruby?" Said girl glanced over at her teammate as they walked. "Do you know why Yang was so upset? I mean, sure, nobody likes losing, but I've seen her lose sparring matches before, and she's usually pretty calm about it. Any idea what made her blow her top?" Ruby didn't respond for a moment.

"I don't think she's just upset that she technically lost," the smaller girl replied after a brief silence, "I think it's more that she lost to me." Blake thought about that for a moment.

"Maybe. Any idea why that is?" Ruby shook her head at that.

"Nope," she answered. "Again, it's not like we talk much, so I don't really actually know that much about her. Not for lack of trying, mind, but after a while without any result I just gave up." Blake sighed.

"Right, sorry," she replied quickly, before retreating into thought. _'What's going on in your head, Yang? What did Ruby do to deserve such... hostility? I don't get it.'_ The faunus snapped herself out of her ruminating after several moments when they found themselves outside the training rooms. She reached for the doorknob and was about to open it when she paused. Straining her faunus ears, she could hear sounds of exertion coming from the other side of the door, accompanied by a rapid thudding of what she could only assume was fists meeting a punching bag.

"Blake?" Ruby enquired curiously. "What is it?" Blake was about to respond that someone was inside, but she was unsure who. That is, until she heard the muffled scream of 'Dammit!'.

"She's in there." Blake replied, glancing back to Ruby. "You ready?" Ruby frowned slightly.

"Not really," she admitted before taking a deep breath, "but that doesn't matter. Let's go." She nodded, and Blake opened the door. It only took her a moment to spot her partner, who was currently sitting on a bench with her forehead resting in her hands. She didn't seem to notice the newcomers right away, and Blake could hear her mumble something to herself before she looked up and spotted the pair of intruders.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, glancing past Blake and looking directly at Ruby. "Come here to rub it in?" Blake frowned at her.

"No, Professor Goodwitch asked us to come find you and make sure you went to the infirmary like she insisted you should," Blake replied with a scowl, "but since you seem to be fine enough at the moment, perhaps we can have a little chat before we leave, hm?" Yang raised an eyebrow at the dark-haired girl, and Blake noted the moisture in the blonde's eyes.

"About what?" she asked cautiously, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. She eyed the pair warily, and Blake gestured to the shorter girl beside her.

"Ruby," she stated simply, and the blonde narrowed her eyes.

"What about her?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"I have no idea what you're-"

"Cut the crap Yang. I know what you've been doing to Ruby behind closed doors, and I'm not letting you push her around anymore," Blake snapped. Yang stared at her for a moment before glaring at her sister.

"Still the same little chicken shit you've always been I see," she spat. "can't handle anything on your own and have to get someone else to deal with it."

"Yang that's enough!" Blake yelled, startling the blonde for a moment. "Where is all this coming from? What the hell did Ruby, one of the kindest people I know, do to deserve such malice?" Yang crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," she replied simply. Blake's scowl deepened.

"No, I think you really should," Blake insisted, crossing her own arms. "I'm all ears." The pair stared each other down for several moments before Yang huffed angrily.

"You want to know so bad? Fine," she started, never once breaking eye contact with the cat ninja. "Lets start off with the fact that because of her I'm criticized all the time by teachers, by my dad, by pretty much everyone. That's really fun, getting bitched at all the time because I don't get straight A's like her, wasn't a team leader like her, didn't get into Beacon two years early for trying to bust a notorious criminal like her. It pisses me off and it just never stops. It's like, fuck off, I'm not Ruby!"

"But none of that is Ruby's fault!" Blake interrupted, earning another scowl from the brawler.

"It gets better. When Ruby's mom died, dad spent so much time comforting and consoling Ruby, but you know how much attention he gave to me? Practically none. I know she wasn't my real mother, but she was the one who raised me, and was the only mother I'd ever really known. On top of that Ruby was too young to fully understand what was going on at the time whereas I could fully comprehend that Summer was dead, but still dad barely spared me a passing glance and gave Ruby all of his attention while I was left to grieve alone." Yang's eyes were now brimming with tears, and her voice had climbed to the point where she was now shouting. Blake was unable to speak, which was fine because Yang wasn't done yet.

"And you want to know the cherry on top?" Yang asked, standing up and pointing directly at Ruby. "You're probably the reason my mom left, too." Ruby's mouth hung open, unable to form any sort of response, Blake in much the same position. It took Blake a moment to regain her ability to speak.

"How could you possibly blame Ruby for that?!" she shouted at the blonde. "She left before Ruby was even born, there is no possible way Ruby could have had anything to do with that."

"Yeah, she left just before Ruby was born, and gee, I wonder why?" Yang retorted. "Maybe because of the baby dad had with another woman?"

"Then blame your dad!" Blake cried. "Blame him, or Summer, or even your mom for leaving, but don't blame Ruby for things she had no control over!"

"Shut up!"

"How about you grow up?!"

"ENOUGH!"

Both the squabbling girls turned to the third person in the room, whom they'd both almost forgotten was there. Ruby's cheeks were covered in tears, but she had a determined look on her face.

"That's enough fighting. We'll talk about this later, after Yang's gone to the infirmary, which is why we came here in the first place," she said to Blake, before turning to Yang. "Let's go. No arguments." Ruby started towards the door, and Blake and Yang glared at each other before moving to follow her.

* * *

"I told you two I was fine. We didn't need to waste our time waiting for the doctor to tell me nothing was wrong," Yang complained as the trio left the infirmary, the blonde having been found to be well enough to not need to stay.

"Better safe than sorry," Ruby replied. "We need you to be cleared as healthy to be able to take on missions. Plus, Professor Goodwitch will probably check to see if you actually showed up, and I don't want her breathing down our necks." Yang snorted.

"She's still gonna get on my ass, but whatever. Not like I'm not used to it by now," she muttered bitterly. Blake placed a tentative hand on the blonde's shoulder, causing her to glance back at her in confusion.

"Yang, I'm sorry your childhood wasn't exactly ideal, but you can't keep taking your frustration out on your sister. She doesn't deserve it. Now, we just want to-"

"Save it. I don't want to hear it," Yang interrupted and shrugged her hand off. Blake grit her teeth in frustration.

"And I'm sure you never will, which is why you NEED to hear it!" she snapped back. "We're all going to be on the same team for the next four years, and I don't want to have to spend that whole time fighting with you. I don't want to be your enemy, and I'm sure your sister would love to actually BE your sister for once. Deep down, I'm sure you already know it's not Ruby you're angry at anyway." Yang didn't respond, simply turning away from the other two and starting off down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked, pointing in the opposite direction. "Class is this way." Yang turned back to the other two and grunted.

"I'm taking the rest of the day off," she replied casually.

"Skipping, you mean," Blake stated, frowning.

"We're already halfway through last period, and Port's class suuucks," Yang whined, putting her hands behind her head. "So you two can head back to the snooze fest if you want, but I'm heading outside to enjoy this fabulous weather we've been having."

"We're not done talking yet!" Blake cried exasperatedly. Yang shrugged.

"We are as long as you don't follow me." With that, she turned on her heel and began walking away. Blake frowned before turning back to Ruby and raised her eyebrow.

"What should we do?" she asked, drawing a shrug from the other girl.

"There's no real point in heading back now," she replied. "Class will be over by the time we show up." She sighed. "There goes my perfect attendance." Blake nodded, and smiled after a moment.

"Well... in that case, why don't we go get changed and head to the cafe?" Ruby grinned at the suggestion.

"That sounds pretty good," she replied. "Let's go."

* * *

The light breeze was cool, caressing the blonde's face as she stretched her arms over her head. With a small sigh, she lowered her arms and leaned on her elbows on the newly installed safety railing. From her perch on top of the school, she gazed out over the school grounds.

 _'Maybe she's right,'_ she thought to herself, sighing once more as she looked out towards the horizon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello all, and welcome back. Sorry this took so long, I've been somewhat busy lately. But you don't want to hear about that lame stuff, you want to get straight to the chapter. So, without further ado, on to the story. Enjoy.**

* * *

Blake gazed around the shop curiously. It wasn't that she was completely lost in this kind of store, she just only ever visited them when necessary, whenever she needed to restock on ammo or pick up a replacement part for Gambol Shroud. She had certainly never gotten as excited as her red cloak clad friend was now, flitting about the shop browsing all the new stock. The girl had a gleam in her eye, so Blake merely stood out of the way while Ruby did her thing. She browsed the handgun ammunition and briefly contemplated picking up some Dust bullets before deciding to stick to her normal rounds. She turned back to the shorter girl and found her gazing at something in the glass display case.

"What're you looking at?" Blake asked, sauntering over to her teammate and glancing at the case. She wasn't all that sure what she was looking at. Ruby responded by squealing loudly in her ear.

"Only the best large calibre rifle feeding mechanism on the market!" the gun nut gushed. "It was developed by the Atlesian military for more reliable feeding of Dust rounds, even in extreme temperatures like in northern Atlas. It'd be so cool to install it on Crescent Rose, so she could use Dust rounds too. Unfortunately, with all the space being taken up by the folding mechanism, I had to use a way smaller feeding mechanism and bolt than I would have liked, and it can't feed Dust rounds properly." Blake raised an eyebrow at her.

"Being able to use Dust rounds would be handy," Blake agreed while glancing at the price tag and raising her eyebrows. "Yikes, the price seems a little steep. Can't you just build one yourself in the workshops at school?" Ruby shook her head.

"Not without being able to take one apart and see how it works," she replied sadly. "Even then, some of the parts I'd probably need are expensive enough that I might as well just buy one anyway. Atlas likes using custom manufactured parts to ensure their tech can't be easily replicated." Blake nodded.

"Oh well," she replied. "I think Crescent Rose is just fine the way it... she, is." Ruby smiled.

"Yep!" the shorter girl agreed happily. "She may not have the fanciest tech on the market, but she can certainly get the job done!" Glancing at the ammunition shelf, she quickly snatched up a few boxes of rifle ammo. "Might as well grab these while I'm here." Blake followed her up to the counter and the two girls paid for their boxes of ammo before stowing them in their bags and stepping out into the street. Blake stretched before turning to Ruby.

"So, where to now?" she asked. Ruby opened her mouth to answer but her stomach beat her to it, growling rather loudly. Blake chuckled as Ruby's cheeks reddened. "Any ideas where we should go to eat?" Blake giggled, causing Ruby to rub the back of her head sheepishly.

"Wanna stop by the cafe?" the shorter girl asked as Blake managed to stifle her laughter. She nodded and the pair started off, allowing a comfortable silence to fall as they meandered through the streets. Blake glanced at the girl strolling beside her, still blushing in embarrassment. Blake felt her lips tug into a small smile.

 _'She's pretty cute when she's blushing.'_ She thought, before catching herself. _'Wait, is that weird? No, it's just a simple observation right? Right.'_ She shook her head as the pair arrived at the Kitty Corner Cafe. Blake got her usual jasmine tea, while Ruby got another triple chocolate mocha (with extra whipped cream) and a sandwich, accompanied by several cookies. They grabbed a table off to the side and Ruby tucked into her lunch. Blake merely watched the younger girl silently while sipping her tea. She smiled when Ruby took a large sip of the mocha too quickly and ended up burning her tongue, and ended up chuckling when she tried balancing one of her cookies on her nose, Ruby smiling in turn.

"You have a nice laugh," the cloaked girl remarked, snatching the cookie before it fell on the floor. "I'm glad you've been letting it out more lately." Now it was Blake's turn to blush, her gaze fixed pointedly into her cup.

"Thank you," she replied after a moment. "It's probably because of you. Your happiness is contagious, it seems." Ruby blinked.

"Me? Really?" she asked. Blake nodded after a moment, and Ruby's grin returned. "Huh. Well, if you say so. That actually makes me really happy." Blake smiled once more.

"I've noticed you've been more lively lately as well, and I can only hope that I had something to do with that too," she remarked, swirling her half-empty cup around.

"Absolutely!" she responded immediately, and perhaps just a tad loudly. "You're like, my best friend." Blake took another sip of her tea.

 _'It's not as though I have all that much competition in that department, but I'm glad nonetheless,'_ Blake thought while sipping her drink. Ruby had gone back to eating, so Blake stayed silent and allowed her to finish her lunch. Once she was done, the two set off once more. The two decided to head back to Beacon, not having any more business in Vale and agreeing to just relax in the dorm room for the rest of the day.

* * *

The Beacon cafeteria was always rather noisy, and today seemed to be no exception. The entire room echoed with the sounds of chatter, filling the room with energy and positivity. None of which served to lighten the mood of the blonde bombshell sitting alone at one of the corner tables. She had her head propped up on one of her hands and lazily munched away at a chicken sandwich, not paying much mind to her surroundings. She was only brought back to attention when the seat across the table from her became occupied by her alabaster-haired teammate. Yang raised her eyebrows but said nothing as she stared at the heiress and continued to chew. After finishing her sandwich, she brushed the crumbs off her hands before addressing the newcomer.

"You need something, Weissy?" Yang asked as she brushed a few stray crumbs off her lap. Weiss huffed slightly as she unwrapped her own veggie sandwich.

"Well hello to you too," she greeted sarcastically before taking a small bite of her lunch. "Why are you sitting all the way over here? You're usually right in the thick of things. Not that Team JNPR or the rest of our team are here right now, but still." Yang shrugged.

"Not feeling it today," the blonde replied, balling up her sandwich wrapper and lobbing it into the nearest trash receptacle. "Three points." Weiss frowned slightly.

"Yang, is something wrong?" Yang glanced back over the table at her.

"Why do you ask?"

"That's not a no. Don't try to deflect the question," Weiss responded. "So what's going on?" Yang frowned.

"Why do you care?" Weiss frowned once more at the blonde's response.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I care?" she responded indignantly. "Just because I'm not the team leader doesn't mean I can't watch out for my fellow teammates. And..." she paused for a moment. "And I'd like to think we'd be considered friends at this point," she mumbled, trailing off at the end. Yang blinked at her a few times.

"Friends?" she scoffed. "We barely talk, I wouldn't really classify that as being friends." Weiss hummed.

"Well, I want to be," she replied after a moment. "I'm not really used to talking to people, so I'm trying to get outside my comfort zone and be more... friendly." Yang blinked at her a few more times.

"So are you coming to me for tips on being more outgoing, or what?" she asked. Weiss huffed in annoyance.

"No you dunce, if you'll stop trying to change the subject every five seconds, I'm asking you what's wrong! Remember?" she snapped. Yang didn't reply. "Well?" Her harsh facade faded away after a few moments without a response. "Does it have something to do with Blake and Ruby?" That got Yang's attention.

"What makes you say that?" she queried. Weiss hummed in accomplishment.

"So it does!" she insisted, causing Yang to roll her eyes.

"I never said that," she replied nonchalantly. "I'm just wondering what makes you think that." Now it was Weiss' turn to roll her eyes.

"Oh please, it was kind of obvious." She turned her gaze back to her slightly sullen teammate. "So, what's the problem? Are you feeling left out now that they seem to be all buddy-buddy for some reason?" The blonde sighed.

"Not exactly," Yang replied, finally standing up and stretching her arms and legs. "It's more the fact that I've kind of completely screwed up my relationship with my sister and I don't know if I can still fix it." Without another word she turned to leave the cafeteria, leaving Weiss at the table unable to form a response. The white-haired girl blinked a few times at the blonde's retreating form before finally comprehending the blonde's statement.

"Hey, wait!" she called after her teammate as she scrambled off her chair and out the cafeteria door, her sandwich now forgotten. She glanced down both hallways and scurried after Yang. "Stop!" She caught up to the blonde and grabbed her wrist, causing the taller girl to glance back at her and pop one of her earbuds out.

"Need something else?" she asked. Weiss sputtered for a few moments.

"Yes, actually!" the heiress finally cried, stomping her foot. "I need to know what the hell is going on between the three of you! All of you have been acting differently than normal and I don't know why!" Yang blinked at her a few times.

"Oh, I thought they'd have told you already," she mumbled, thinking a moment before gesturing for Weiss to follow. "C'mon, let's take a walk. It's a long story."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello all, and welcome back. Thanks to everyone for the continued support. Constructive criticism always appreciated. Anyways, without further ado, on to the story. Enjoy.**

* * *

Weiss gazed at the girl in front of her with an eyebrow cocked and arms crossed. The other girl shrugged, drawing a sigh from Weiss.

"Well, this sure sounds like a fine mess you've managed to make," Weiss stated. The blonde shrugged.

"Kind of," she agreed, and Weiss sighed again.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Yang blinked at the question.

"What do you mean?" she asked. If Weiss eyebrow could have gone any further upwards, it would have.

"Well, you don't sound particularly happy about how things are now, so what are you going to do about it?" That earned her another shrug.

"I don't know if there's anything I can do." Weiss rolled her eyes at Yang.

"So you're just going to do nothing?" Yang didn't respond, prompting the heiress to growl in frustration. "Rragh! What's wrong with you? You're always a person of action, except now when it actually matters!" Yang rolled her eyes at the seething heiress.

"Remind me why you care so much again?" Weiss' anger lever dipped noticeably, drawing an inquisitive look from the blonde.

"Because you're my teammate, and my friend." Yang opened her mouth to interrupt, but Weiss slapped her hand over the blonde's mouth. "Not this again. I'm going to consider you my friend, even if you don't consider me yours." Yang closed her mouth again and Weiss removed her hand. "And seeing as I consider you a friend, I don't want... I don't want you and Ruby to end up like me and my sister..." She fell silent, and Yang raised an eyebrow.

"What happened between you and your sister?" she asked, and Weiss shook her head.

"We don't talk. But that's not important right now," she replied after a deep breath. "What matters is making sure you do your part to fix your relationship with her while there's still a relationship to be fixed." Yang frowned.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" she asked. Weiss rolled her eyes.

"That's up to you." Yang sighed at that.

"That's helpful." the blonde replied. Weiss rolled her eyes yet again before going silent for a few moments.

"Are there any significant dates coming up soon?" Weiss asked. "I know her birthday isn't for a while, but is there anything else?" Yang thought for a moment.

"There's one." she stated simply. Weiss cocked an eyebrow.

"What is it?" she asked. Yang merely turned on her heel and began walking away. "Yang?" The blond stopped for a moment.

"It's a family thing." she answered before leaving Weiss alone in the middle of the hallway.

* * *

Blake observed the girl across the table from her while calmly sipping her tea. The cafe was nearly empty, meaning that only the occasional murmur from one of the few other patrons made it to their secluded corner booth. The object of the faunus' observation was currently munching away on a few chocolate chip cookies, but seemed to lack her usual ravenous appetite for the baked good. Blake placed her mug back on the table and cleared her throat. Ruby looked up from her triple chocolate mocha and gazed at her curiously.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. Ruby blinked once but nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she replied. "Why do you ask?" Blake fixed her with a serious gaze.

"You've seemed kind of off the past couple of days," Blake explained. "I just want to make sure Yang's not harassing you when I'm not looking." Ruby shook her head.

"Nope. Yang's been leaving me alone for the most part." Blake raised an eyebrow.

"For the most part? What do you mean by that?" she queried, and Ruby shook her head again.

"Nothing, I just mean she only talks to me when she has to. Like, for team stuff." Ruby explained, and Blake sighed.

"Okay. Let me know if she gives you a hard time." Ruby nodded. The pair was silent for a few moments before Blake spoke up again. "So what's actually the problem?" Ruby looked up from her cookies.

"What do you mean?" she asked popping another cookie into her mouth. Blake cocked her eyebrow.

"Well, you still have cookies on your plate after twenty minutes, so that's one indicator," she stated, pointing at the plate that still had a couple cookies on it. "Besides that, you've been more quiet overall, and less... well, energetic." Ruby glanced at the cookie in her hand and seemed to be seriously mulling something over in her head. After a moment, she nodded slightly.

"Okay, there is one thing, but it's nothing bad," she said, putting the cookie back on the plate. "This week is the anniversary of when my mom passed away." Blake's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, I see," she replied quietly. "I'm sorry for prying, I was being nosy." Ruby shook her head.

"It's okay, you were just looking out for me." She smiled slightly. "I'll be going out to her grave tomorrow, so I probably won't be feeling up to hanging out." Blake nodded.

"That's completely fine," Blake replied. "Take as much alone time as you need. I need study for the next test in Oobleck's class anyway." Ruby nodded.

The pair finished up their drinks and snacks and headed back to Beacon, the sun barely starting to set as the airship touched down at the Beacon landing pad. The duo disembarked and were silent as they made their way back to the dorm room. When Blake opened the door, she was surprised to see Yang, who was sitting on Ruby's bed and immediately glanced up from her scroll. Blake's surprise quickly turned to suspicion.

"Hello Yang," she greeted coolly. "Where's Weiss?" The blonde shrugged at her after hopping off the bed.

"Probably studying or something," she replied before turning to Ruby. "Hey, uh, can I talk to you about something real quick?" Ruby immediately became nervous.

"About what?" Blake asked, eyes narrowing. Yang glanced back at her.

"Family stuff," she replied simply. Blake was about to protest when she was interrupted by Ruby.

"Is it about tomorrow?" Ruby asked. Her sister nodded after a moment. "What is it?" Yang glanced pointedly at Blake. "She knows already." Yang fell silent for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

"Do you..." she hesitated. "Would you mind if I came with you tomorrow? I'll give you a ride there on Bumblebee." Blake's eyes widened in surprise. Ruby merely raised an eyebrow.

"Why now?" she asked. "You never come to mom's grave." Yang sighed.

"I know, that's the problem," she sighed again. "Look, if you don't want me there, that's fine, I'll just go some other time." Ruby went silent, mulling it over.

"...okay." Both of the other two girls in the room looked at the team leader in surprise. "Make sure you're up and ready to go at seven o'clock. I always go out there in the morning." Yang nodded.

"I'll be sure to set my alarm," she replied before sauntering out of the room. Blake waited a moment before turning to the shorter girl.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, raising a questioning brow. Ruby merely shrugged.

"Not really," she admitted, "but let's see how it goes."

* * *

Ruby sat on her bed, fiddling around on her scroll while waiting for the other girl to get out of the shower. She stretched her arms and let out a short sigh before hopping off her bed once she heard the shower stop. A minute later, Yang stepped out of the bathroom, lightly towelling of her hair.

"Ready to go?" Ruby asked. Yang nodded.

"I can't blow dry my hair with Weiss and Blake still asleep, so I'll just let it air dry." Her sister nodded.

"Alright, let's head out."

The pair made the trip to Vale in silence after that, neither quite able to start a conversation. Once they touched down, a thought dawned on Ruby.

"Hey, wait, where do you even keep your motorcycle?" the younger girl asked.

"There's a vehicle storage facility nearby for students to keep their vehicles while they're at Beacon," the blonde explained. "It's basically like renting a big locker for Bumblebee." Ruby nodded as they made their way to the storage lockers. Yang approached the one labelled 37 and reached into her shirt.

"Uh, Yang?" Ruby asked, giving her sister an odd look. "What are you doing?" Yang replied by pulling a key out of her cleavage.

"Well, I need to unlock the door, and I need my key to do that," Yang stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I get that, but why can't you use, I dunno, one of the pouches on your belt?" she asked. Yang popped the lock open and pulled the door up.

"It's harder to lose it if I put it there," Yang replied with a shrug. "Plus I just feel better being able to feel it at all times. I really, REALLY don't want to lose it, seeing as I love Bumblebee about as much as you love Crescent Rose." She pulled the bike out of the garage and closed and re-locked the door, while Ruby just scoffed.

"As much as I love Crescent Rose? I doubt it." Yang shrugged again and pulled a bright yellow helmet out of the storage compartment. She flipped it around in her hands before tossing it to Ruby.

"Catch," she said quickly, and Ruby almost fumbled it. The brunette glanced at the helmet before looking back at Yang.

"Where's your helmet?" she asked, and Yang once more shrugged.

"You're holding it," she stated, hopping on the bike and patting the spot behind her. "I need to let my hair dry, I have a harder head, and you're the one that's more likely to fall off. So you take it." Ruby frowned but didn't argue, strapping the bright yellow bucket to her head and hopping on the back of the giant yellow machine.

"I sure hope you know how to ride this thing." Now it was Yang's turn to scoff.

"Please, I could ride this thing blindfolded by now."

"Don't even think about it," Ruby replied immediately, seeing the gears in Yang's head almost start to turn.

"Spoilsport," she mumbled before clearing her throat. "Alright Ruby, make sure you hold onto me. Can't have you falling off." Ruby seemed hesitant, but eventually wrapped her arms around Yang's waist. Once the blonde felt the petite arms encircle her torso and find a good grip, Yang turned the key and the machine roared to life. Ruby squeaked once in surprise before Yang cranked the acceleration and the handlebars, peeling out of the lot.

* * *

The two somehow made it to the forest in one piece, much to Ruby's surprise. Her legs were a bit wobbly as she dismounted the bike. Yang hopped off as well, and the bike straightened itself out on it's own. Ruby regarded the bike curiously while tossing her helmet back to Yang.

"What's keeping it upright?" the tech-head asked. Yang glanced up at her while stowing the helmet back into its compartment.

"I have internal stabilizers and a gyroscope built into the body," Yang replied, setting off with her sister down the path to the cliff. "A normal kickstand just wasn't good enough for my baby." Ruby allowed herself a small smile.

"Wow, I'm kind of impressed," Ruby admitted. "Did you install that yourself?" Yang nodded.

"Of course," she stated. "Only I get to work on her." She noticed Ruby giving her a surprised look. "Hey, just because I'm not as smart as you doesn't mean I'm useless. I'm good at some things. Working on and riding motorcycles, that's two things." Ruby smiled.

"That's kind of cool," Ruby replied. Yang motioned to the side, and the shorter girl notice that they'd arrived.

"You wanna go do your thing first?" Yang asked. Ruby glanced over at the headstone and nodded. Yang nodded back, and moved back to sit against one of the nearby trees, leaving Ruby to have her chat with Summer.

She caught snippets of Ruby's chatter, telling her mother about anything and everything, from her classes to her teammates, though noticeably avoiding talking about Yang. At least, not that Yang could hear. Yang almost felt herself beginning to nod off, feeling quite comfortable on the soft grass and being bathed in the sun's rays, before she felt her sister shaking her shoulder.

"Hey." Ruby greeted. "You can talk with her now, if you want." Yang nodded, standing up and stretching while Ruby snagged her spot against the sturdy oak tree. The blonde ambled over and stood awkwardly next to the headstone.

"Hey Summer," the blonde started, following Ruby's example. "It's been a while, huh? Sorry about that. I've been... I just haven't been doing so hot for... well, since you left. I'll just come right out and say it, I've kind of been a huge prick. I've been horrible to Ruby, I haven't talked to dad in... a while. I... It's been kind of rough. After you left, it felt like everything was just falling apart. My mom was gone, then you were gone. Dad shut down, my grades started slipping, and I just felt so angry and alone all the time. It got so bad I started lashing out at the people closest to me. Especially Ruby. I was angry at my mom, dad, and even you, but none of you were there. So Ruby caught the brunt of it." She took a deep breath.

"I know that's not fair, but I didn't know what to do, so I just lashed out at whoever was around me. And since Ruby was always around me, well. You can probably see where I'm going with that. I'm glad she had Blake to stick up for her." She paused. "Weiss helped too, I suppose. She's Ruby's partner. I'm sure she told you all about the little ice princess, but anyway. Blake's my partner. I heard Ruby tell you a bit about her too. She stuck up for Ruby and made me see how screwed up I was being. I guess I'm super lucky I got stuck on a team with people with some common sense." She chuckled lightly, before frowning. "I'm... I'm sorry I haven't exactly been the best big sister in the world for your baby girl, but I'm working on it. Things are going to be different from now on, I promise." She let out a long sigh, feeling a little lighter for the first time in a long time. She blinked, the put her hand to her cheek and was surprised to find it damp.

 _'Huh'_ she thought, wiping her face on the back of her hand. _'Hadn't even noticed my eyes had started leaking,'_ She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Ruby.

"You okay Yang?" she asked, noticing her gleaming cheeks. Yang nodded.

"Yeah, I'm.. I'm fine." she replied quickly. Ruby gave her a soft look.

"Do you... want a hug?" she asked. Yang paused for a moment, before slowly nodding.

"...sure." she answered, and felt the smaller girl's lithe arms around her torso. She reciprocated after a moment, giving Ruby a short squeeze before letting her go. "Come on, let's get back before we miss out on any of the good breakfast stuff in the cafeteria." Ruby nodded, and the two made to leave. Yang paused for a moment and turned back to the headstone behind her.

"It was good to talk."


End file.
